Sonoma State University has alumni in many different fields living their dreams while carrying on the Seawolf legacy, and Class of 2019 graduate and current NBC Bay Area digital media editor Mandela Linder is no exception.
Linder graduated in May of 2019 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications, and she earned a few Associate’s Degrees during her time at Mendocino College. During her time at SSU, Linder was a commuter who did not have much time to get involved in extracurricular activities, but she was heavily impacted by the courses she took and professors she met while on campus. She explains that her creative writing class was her favorite course overall, she wrote for the STAR to gain some experience, and her web and print journalism class is what ultimately led her to the opportunity to work for NBC.
She said that, since she was a transfer student from Mendocino County, she chose SSU mainly because it was the closest school to transfer to. Also, she was commuting to and from school, so she chose the university with the shortest commute.
Linder explains that her position at NBC, “sort of fell into [her] lap” a few weeks before she was set to graduate. Her original plans to travel immediately after graduation were derailed when she was offered a job by NBC after calling one of their managers for a class project. “Within two weeks, I had a job offer,” she said.
Linder has held current job title at NBC, digital media editor, for about a year and she has many different tasks that come with said title depending on the day. She mentioned that a new, exciting part of her job is editing and curating the Changing Climate page on the NBC site. Some more of her duties include writing and curating stories for the web, scheduling social media posts, sending push alerts, and handling breaking news. Her favorite part of her job is running the climate page, and she said, “I really care a lot about the environment and I care a lot about climate change, so getting to work on that makes me feel like I’m doing something really meaningful.” Prior to starting her climate project, Linder said her favorite thing about her job is anytime she gets to write something that is completely her own.
Linder also mentioned that her job has changed drastically because of COVID-19, explaining that she, “covered the election from [her] bed.” She said that not being in the newsroom is definitely strange and nowadays, and when she does go into work, “…there’s maybe six people in the whole building as opposed to a few hundred.”
When asked about her hobbies and interests, Linder said she just started getting into backpacking and is planning a trip to Yosemite soon. She explained that on the first day of her first backpacking trip at Cascade National Park, she was completely alone and saw a bear, which was the one thing she didn’t want to happen.
SSU student Nico Gomez said, “As someone who frequently watches NBC and receives updates from their app, I really enjoy knowing that an SSU alumna is behind some of the content I’m consuming.”
When asked what wisdom she’d give to recent graduates or soon-to-be graduates, Linder said her number one piece of advice is to never label a class as too easy and dismiss it, because, “…you get out what you put into it,” she explains. “Being part of a college or institution could open doors for you,” was another point Linder made. She said that people are more willing to answer questions about jobs or internships when the person asking is linked to a university or institution like Sonoma State University, so she encourages Seawolves to contact people in their field of interest while they still have their university affiliation to back them up. One final piece of advice Linder offered was, “Trust the process, don’t be afraid to put yourself out there because, for me, I had a plan and it was to travel, not do this.” She went on to say, “If something isn’t happening for you right away, don’t stop trying, don’t stop meeting people, and don’t stop putting yourself out there.”
